post-oak 
Ing northward Into Maryland. It has a height of from 70 
to DO feet, and Ita hard, strong, and tough wood hai the 
aame u*e* aa white oak. See oat, I. Also called overcup- 
oat and inter ttkitt oat. 
post-obit (post-6'bit), . [< L. post, after, + 
obitus, death: seeoWt.] 1. A bond given for the 
purpose of securing to a lender a sum of money 
on the death of some specified individual from 
whom the borrower has expectations: some- 
times used attributively: as, a post-obit bond. 
Such loam an not only made at usurious rates of Interest, 
but usually the borrower has to pay a much larger sum 
than he has received, In consideration of the risk that he 
may die before the person from whom he has expectations. 
If, however, there is in the proportions a groas Inadequacy 
amounting to fraud, a court of equity will Interfere. 
Now I propose, Mr. Premium, If it 's agreeable to you, a 
pott-obit on Sir Oliver's life. 
Sheridan, School fur Scandal, ill. S. 
2. Same as post-mortem. 
postoblongata (post-ob-long-ga'tft), n. [NL. , < 
L. post, behind, + NL. oblongata, q. v.] The 
oblongata proper, lying behind the pous. 
postocular (pont-ok'u-lSr), a. [< L. post, be- 
hind, 4- ni' a I a.*, the eye: see ocular.] 1. Lying 
behind the eye (on the surface of the body of 
any animal) ; running back from the eye, as s 
streak of color; postorbital. 
Parallel curved white superciliary and pontaeular stripes. 
Sportsman i Gazetteer, p. 209. 
2. In < iitnni., situated behind or beneath the 
compound eyes Postocular lobes, anterior projec- 
tlons of the lower sides of the prothorax, impinging on 
the eyes when the head Is retracted. 
postoesophageal, a. See postesophageal. 
post-office (post'of'is), w. 1. An office or place 
where letters are received for transmission to 
various destinations, and from which letters are 
delivered that have been received from places 
at home and abroad. Abbreviated /'. n. 
If you are sent to the pottnfce with a letter In a cold 
rainy night, step to the ale-house and take a pot. 
Sw\ft, Directions to Servant* (Footman). 
2. A department of the government charged 
with the conveyance of letters, etc., by post. 
General post-office, the principal post-office in a large 
city or town. Post-office annuity and Insurance, In 
(Jreat Britain, a system whereby the postmaster-general 
is empowered to Insure lives between tne ages of fourteen 
and sixty -flve for not leM than C'> nor more than 100, and 
also to grant annuities of not more than 100. Post-of- 
fice box, oTie of a aeries of pigeonholes into which the 
mail for a person or tlrin, or lor a particular destination, 
is distributed In a post-office or postal car. Such boxes In 
a post-office are generally numbered, and either have glass 
backtt, to display their content* from the outside, or are 
provided with locking doors at the back, to which the 
lessee of the box holds the key, and are then called lock- 
boxa. (V. aj Post-office car. See mait-rar. Post- 
office Department, that branch of a government which 
supervises the business of the post : In Great Britain the 
telegraph-lines are also under IU management. .See de- 
partmfnt. Post-office order. See money-order. Post- 
offlce savings-bank, in the British postal system, a bank 
connected with a local post-office where deposits not ex- 
ceeding 30 in any year are received to an amount not 
exceeding 160, on government security, at a rate of In- 
terest of 2$ percent, per annum. Railway post-office, 
a railroad-car, or part of a railroad-car, in which the dis- 
tribution of mall-matter Is made: In England styled a 
trawling pont-oflce. 
postolivary (post-ol'i-va-ri), a. [< NL. post- 
oliraris, < L. post, behind, + NL. olivaris, L. 
nl i ni ri H.t, olivary: see olivary.'] Posterior to 
the oliva, or olivary body Postolivary sulcus. 
Same as tvlcut potto/tram (which see, under mucux). 
postomosternal (post-o-mo-sKr'nal), a. [< 
postomostern-um + -of.] Pertaining to the post- 
omosternum. 
postomosternum (pdst-6-mo-ster'num), H. ; pi. 
poxtmnosterna (-nft). [NL., < L. post, behind, 
+ NL. omostcrnum, q. v.] A posterior omo- 
sternum. 
post-operative (post-op'e-ra-tiv), o. [< L. 
post, after, + E. operat(ion) + -ire.] Occur- 
ring after an operation, as an examination 
made after a surgical operation. 
postoral (post-6'ral), a. [< L. post, behind, + 
on (or-), the mouth : see oral.'] Situated behind 
the mouth : specifically applied to certain of the 
visceral arches and clefts of the vertebrate em- 
bryo Postoral arches, visceral arches posterior to the 
mouth. Also called pharyngeal arcAet. Postoral seg- 
ments, In arthropods, those primary or theoretical seg- 
ment* which are situated behind the month, as distin- 
guished from thepreorai tegmentt, which are morphologi- 
cally anterior to the mouth, but are turned back to form 
the front or top of the beau. The postoral cephalic seg- 
ments of li.secU are the mandlbular, first maxillary, and 
second maxillary or labial, each corresponding to the ap- 
pendage* from which they are named, and which answer 
to the ambulatory limbs of the thoracic segment* ; In spi- 
ders the labial aegment I* transferred to the thorax, the 
anterior pair of legs In that group being the homeland 
of thelabiumof insects. The postoral segment* are clo*e- 
1) united with one another and with the preoral segments, 
o that It I* very difficult to trace them ; probably the g. - 
me, .K-clput, gula. and cervical sclerites represent them In 
the bead of the perfect Iruect. 
4644 
postorbital (post-or'bi-tal), a. and n. [< L. 
post, behind, + orhitii, orbit: see orbital.) I. 
a. 1. In mini, and .</.: (a) Situated on the 
hinder part of the bony brim of the orbit of 
the eye. Since the frontal bone usually circumscribes 
more than half of this orbit, a postorbital process Is usu- 
ally also a postf rontal process. This process, when formed 
of the frontal bone, varies much in size and shape, and 
may be present or absent In the skulls of animals closely 
related, therefore furnishing a useful zoological character. 
Compare, for example, the large hooked postorbital pro- 
cess of the skull of the hare, figured under Leporidjr,vlth 
the absence of such a formation In the skull of another 
rodent, the beaver, figured under Castor. In man the 
corresponding formation is known as the external angular 
process of the frontal bone, (ft) Bounding the orbit 
behind, as a separate bone of sundry reptiles. 
See the noun, (c) Lying backward (caudad) 
of the orbit of the eye, on the surface of the 
body; postocular: as, the postorbital part of the 
head. Encye. Brit., XII. 636. 2. In entom., ly- 
ingbehind the compound eyes of an insect. 
II. ii. In herpct., a separate bone which in 
some reptiles forms a posterior part of the or- 
bit of the eye. Such a bone may come In behind an- 
other regarded as a postfrontal (see cut under Ichthyo- 
wuriaX *nd is then unequivocal; but when only one bone, 
apart from the frontal, bound* the orbit In any part of 
its posterior half, it may be regarded as cither a postfron- 
tal or a postorbital. 
post-paid (post'pad), a. Having the postage 
prepaid : as, a post-paid letter. 
postpalatal (post-paTa-tal), a. and n. [< L. 
vast, behind, + palattim, palate: see palatal.] 
I. a. Situated behind the palate or palate-bones. 
II. n. A postpalatal bone; a post palatine. 
postpalatine (post-pal'a-tin), n. [< L. post, be- 
hind, + palatnm, palate: see palatine 3 .] One of 
the so-called ptery goid bones of certain reptiles, 
as the crocodile. 
postparietal (post-pa-ri'e-tal), . and w. [< L. 
pout, behind, + ptirics (pariiet-), wall : see parie- 
tal."] I. n. In lierpet., situated behind the pa- 
rietal plates of a serpent's head. 
II. a. A postparietal plate. 
post-partnm (post-par'tum), a. [< L. post p<tr- 
tum, after birth: post, after; partiim, ace. of 
partus, birth, < parere, bear, bring forth.] Tak- 
ing place after the birth of a child: as, post- 
jxirtiim hemorrhage. 
postpectoral (post-pek'to-ral), a. [< postpectim 
(-pcctor-) + -/.] Of or pertaining to the post- 
pectns Postpectoral legs, In entom., the third pair, 
or hind legs. 
postpectus (post-pek'tus), n. [NL., < L. {tost, 
behind, + itectus, breast: see pectus.] 1. In 
zoiil., the hind-breast, or hinder part of the 
breast. 2. In en torn., a region corresponding 
to the metathorax. 
postpeduncular (post-pe-dung'ku-l&r), a. [< 
pontpetliiHCttl-Hx 4- -or 3 .] Of or pertaining to 
the postpedunculuH. 
postpedunculus (poHt-pe-dung'ku-lus), 11. ; pi. 
postpedinicHli (-li). [NL. (Wilder), < li.post, be- 
hind, + LL. pcduiiculiix, a peduncle or pedicel: 
see perftiMc/e.] The inferior peduncle of the 
cerebellum. 
postpetiole (post-pet'i-61), . [< L. nost, be- 
hind, + petioius, a petiole : see petiole, j In en- 
torn., that part of a petiolate abdomen imme- 
diately behind the petiole or narrow basal sec- 
tion: generally the second segment is under- 
stood. especially if it is somewhat narrower 
than the succeeding segments. 
postpharyngeal (post-fa-rin'je-al), a. [< L. 
post, behind, + NL.pAarjrnz, pharynx: seepha- 
ryngeal."] Behind the pharynx; retropharyn- 
geal ; situated in the posterior pharyngeal wall : 
as, a postpharyngeal abscess. 
postpituitary (post-pit'u-i-ta-ri),o. [<L.o,, 
behind, + E. pituitary.]' Situated behind the 
pituitary fossa. 
Post-pliocene (post-pli'o-sen), a. and n. [= F. 
j>iitit-l>liocene; as L. post, after, + E. pliocene.] 
In gcol., same as Post-tertiary. 
post-pocket (post'pok'et), n. In a railway 
stock-car, etc., an iron casting attached to the 
outside of the sill to receive and hold a post. 
postponable (post-po'na-bl), a. [< postpone. 
+ -We.] Admitting of postponement or de- 
lay. 
postpone (post-pdV), v. I. ; pret. and pp. po*t- 
liiim-il, ppr. postponing. [= Sp. posponer = Pg. 
/IO.V/KJT = It. posporre, < L. postponere, put 
after, < post, after, -I- ponere, put: see position. 
Of. postjiose."] 1. To put off; defer to a future 
or later time ; delay. 
His 
His 
postpredicament 
Us pray'r preferr'd to saints that cannot aid ; 
II* praise pMtpon'd, and never to be paid. 
Covper, Truth, L 86. 
2. To set below (something else) in value or im- 
portance ; rate as less important or inferior. 
All other considerations should give way and be pott. 
poned to this. Locke, Education. 
So shall each youth, assisted by our eye*, . . . 
) headless Phoebe hU fair bride pottpone, 
Tol 
I will postpone common and even-day topic*. 
Peter Martyr, quoted In Bradford's Works (Parker Soc., 
(1868), II. 403. 
Honour a Syrian prince above his own. 
I'ope, Dunclad, Iv. 887. 
But the philosopher, not leas than the poet, pottponet 
the apparent order and relations of things to the empire 
of thought Jimerion, Nature. 
= Byn. 1. To adjourn, procrastinate, stave off. 
postponement (post-pon'ment), . [ = It. pos- 
ponimento; &s postpone + -meat.] 1. The act 
of postponing, or deferring to a future time ; 
temporary delay. 
Persons and events may stand for a time between you 
and justice, but It Is only a postponement. You must pay 
at last your own debt. Emerson, Compensation. 
2. The act of placing after or below in im- 
portance or esteem ; a subordinating. 
The opportunities for that ptatponement of self to others 
which constitutes altruism as ordinarily conceived must, 
in several ways, be more and more limited a* the highest 
state Is approached. H. Spencer, Data of Ethics, { 96. 
postponencet (post-po'nens), n. [< L. post- 
poneti(t-)s, ppr. of postponere : see postpone.'] 
Same as postponement, 2. 
Noting preference, or pnttponence. 
Juhiaon, In def. of Of. 
postpone! (post-po'ner), . [(.postpone + -er 1 .] 
One who postpones ; one who delays or puts off. 
postpontile (post-ppn'til), a. [< L. post, be- 
hind, + pon( t-)s, bridge : see pon tile. ] Situated 
behind the pons Varolii : opposed toprepon tile : 
as, the postpontile recess, more commonly called 
foramen arrant. 
postposet (post-poz'), r. t. [< F. postposer, < 
L. post, after, + F. poser, put: see />oe 2 .] 1. 
To place after (something else). 
We utter our wil be verbes signifying the form of our 
wll, orpnftpoting the supposlt [subject ). 
A. llniiif, Orthographie (E. E. T. s.x p. SI. 
2. To postpone; put off. Fiillir. (Imp. Diet.) 
postpositt (post-poz'it), . t. [< L. postpositus, 
pp. of postponere : see postpone."] To postpone ; 
treat or regard as of inferior value. 
Often, In our love to her, our love to God is swallowed 
and pottpotited. Fettham, On St. Luke, 328. (Latham,) 
postposition (post-po-zish'on), H. [< F. post- 
osttion = Pg. posposigSo = It. pottposizionc ; < 
. postpositus, pp. of postponere, put after : see 
postpone."] 1. The act of postposing or placing 
after; the state of being put behind. 
Nor Is the poft-pontwn of the nominative case to the 
verb against the use of the tongue. 
./. Mi'ili, Daniel's Weeks, p. :;i;. 
For purely Intellectual writing, then. It seems that the 
French usage of postposition |of the adjective] Is the best. 
Amer. Jour. Philol., VI. 847. 
2. In gram., a word or particle placed after or 
at the end of a word : opposed to proposition. 
[Bare.] 
In almost all the native language* of Asia, what we call 
prepositions follow their noun ; often, like the article and 
reflective pronoun, coalescing with it, so as to form, or 
simulate, an Inflection. The Inconvenience of such a term 
as preposition Is now manifest; nor Is It much remedied 
when we allow ourselves to use the contradictor)' phrase 
postpositive preposition. What is really wanted i* a 
general name for that part of speech under which prepo- 
sition and postposition may stand as co-ordinate terms. 
Latham, Diet, II. 6*8. 
postpositional (post-po-zish'on-al), a. [<post- 
posttion + -al.~] Pertaining to a postposition. 
postpositive ( post-poz 'i-ti v), a. [< F. postposi- 
tif = It. pospositivo, < L. postpositus, pp. of post- 
ponere, place after: see postpone and positive."] 
Placed after something else ; suffixed ; append- 
ed : as, a postpositive word. 
We find here the poilpotitice article which constitutes 
so notable a feature of the Scandinavian languages. 
The Xation. XLVI1I. 301. 
postprandial (post-pran'di-al), a. [< L. post, 
after, -I- prannium, dinner: seejirnnrfiai.] Hap- 
pening, uttered, done, etc., after dinner: as, 
a postprandial speech. 
I was much cheered by the announcement of this Carl- 
ton dub ; the very name seemed to have been chosen with 
an eye to the drooping condition of pmt -prandial business. 
Xocta Amhrurianie, Sept., 1832. 
postpredicament (post-pnMlik'n-ment), n. [< 
AIL. po.it in-, < , lii-niiii ii/iiin ( Abclnrci), < li.post, af- 
ter, + ML. pr/erficamentum, prcdicMim-nt : see 
/irftlirament."] One of the live subjects treated 
by Aristotle at the end of his Look on tl iite- 
gories or predicaments, namely the e.\]>lHna- 
